Nature restoration and food security: Why bringing back nature cannot wait

The document contends that global and European food insecurity is a problem of distribution, access, and utilization rather than production. It highlights that the EU is a net exporter of agri-food products and that a significant portion of its cereal production is used for animal feed and biofuels rather than human consumption. The text argues that industrial agricultural practices drive the climate and biodiversity crises, which in turn threaten food yields through pollinator loss and extreme weather. It advocates for a transition to agro-ecological practices and the adoption of the EU Nature Restoration Law with ambitious, enforceable targets to capture carbon and protect ecosystem services.

• The European Union does not suffer from food shortages or availability issues, as it is a net exporter of agri-food products, exporting €9.7 billion while importing €7.6 billion.
• Cereal use in the EU is heavily skewed away from human consumption; in 2020, only 58.4 million tonnes of the 281 million tonnes produced were used for humans, while 162.5 million tonnes went to animal feed and 28.7 million tonnes to industrial use and biofuels.
• Global food insecurity is driven by distribution and utilization issues rather than a lack of production; only 55% of crop calories are consumed directly by humans, while 36% are used for animal feed and 9% for industrial use.
• Climate change and biodiversity loss significantly threaten agricultural yields; for example, 85% of main global food crops rely on pollination, and the absence of insect pollination could reduce EU crop production by 25% to 32%.
• Industrial agricultural practices contribute to the crises they are vulnerable to, with food systems accounting for approximately one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions.
• Converting land currently set aside for biodiversity into farmland would provide minimal food benefits—contributing less than 1.8% of arable land in the EU—while exacerbating environmental crises.
• Nature restoration offers significant climate mitigation potential; restoring degraded terrestrial habitats in the EU could store 300 million tonnes of CO2 annually, a volume comparable to the EU's annual agricultural GHG emissions.
• The EU Nature Restoration Law should include enforceable, area-based targets to achieve land-use change on at least 15% of EU land and sea area by 2030.

APA

ClientEarth (2022). Nature restoration and food security: Why bringing back nature cannot wait. https://www.clientearth.org/media/x3yng0dx/food-security-fact-sheet_q-a-020622.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Nature restoration and food security: Why bringing back nature cannot wait. 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/x3yng0dx/food-security-fact-sheet_q-a-020622.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Nature restoration and food security: Why bringing back nature cannot wait |date=June 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/x3yng0dx/food-security-fact-sheet_q-a-020622.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2022nature, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Nature restoration and food security: Why bringing back nature cannot wait}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/x3yng0dx/food-security-fact-sheet_q-a-020622.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }